Exploration of the Colorado River of the West and its Tributaries by Powell, John Wesley - 1875

Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. Good with no dust jacket. 1875. First Edition. Hardcover. Modern 3/4 dark green calf over original boards. Report to Congress from the Powell expeditions on the Green and Colorado Rivers. Green pebbled boards with blind ruling on front and back. Collated complete with scarce map and profile present in rear pocket and are in very good condition. Edges are rubbed, surface blemishes to boards. Has been recently re-backed and stabilized. Several pages were loose when we acquired this volume and show chipping to the edges; they are now tipped in. The loose pages likely were used in research by Wallace Stegner as noted below. Interior is free of markings. Wallace Stegner's name and address are on the first endpaper; also ex-library copy. This copy was used by Wallace Stegner in his research for "Beyond the Hundredth Meridian". No notes or marginalia noted. "Beyond the Hundredth Meridian" was unlike any of Stegner's previous works, requiring research spanning 5 years. Stegner often consulted with his mentor Bernard DeVoto during the writing. At one point Stegner writes to DeVoto, "I really am scared to death to let anybody see this, for some reason. Maybe I know the thing stinks." The writing of Hundredth Meridian would solidify Stegner's growing environmentalism and the book remains a classic of the history of the west. Book was acquired directly from the Stegner family. Powell's mostly definitive record of his exploration of the Green and Colorado Rivers; curiously, he ignores almost entirely his second expedition 1871-1872, and chose to re-write the report and publish "Canyons of the Colorado: " in 1895. Farquhar 42A. ; Book; 4to - over 9¾" - 12" tall; 291 pp .